Peter Greenleaf, chief executive officer of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals Inc., has been appointed as chairman of the board. Sucampo said late Tuesday that Greenleaf, the company’s CEO and a board member since March 2014, is slated to take the reins as chairman on Jan. 1.
Pharmacists in Rite Aid Corp.’s nearly 4,600 drug stores are now using the EQuIPP pharmacy performance measurement platform from Pharmacy Quality Solutions (PQS). Rite Aid said Wednesday that it’s the largest drug chain to enable EQuIPP access to all of its pharmacists.
CVS Health has completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Target Corp.’s pharmacy and retail health clinic business. The companies said Wednesday that Target’s 1,672 pharmacies in 47 states will be branded as CVS/pharmacy and operated under a store-within-a-store format.
Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim are in talks to swap their animal health and consumer health care businesses, respectively. The companies said Tuesday that the proposed transaction would involve an exchange of Sanofi’s Merial animal health business (“Merial”), valued at €11.4 billion ($12.
Allergan plc has released Viberzi (eluxadoline), a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D), to U.S. pharmacies. The company said Monday that Viberzi, a twice-daily oral medication, relieves the core symptoms of IBS-D: recurrent diarrhea and abdominal pain.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Walgreens have entered agreements in which the drug maker will directly distribute branded prescription drugs in a range of therapeutical areas to the pharmacy chain at reduced pricing.
Endo International plc has received an extension of its exclusive U.S. marketing rights for Voltaren Gel (diclofenac sodium topical gel 1%), a nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Endo said Monday that it also was granted extended U.S.
Horizon Pharma plc plans to acquire Crealta Holdings LLC for $510 million in cash. Horizon said the deal will bring the company Krystexxa (pegloticase), the first and only Food and Drug Administration-approved drug for chronic refractory gout.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. has released Ninlaro capsules (ixazomib), a blood cancer medication, in the United States. Takeda said Friday that Ninlaro is the first and only oral proteasome inhibitor.
In tandem with a congressional hearing, the National Community Pharmacists Association called on lawmakers to take a closer look at recent generic drug price hikes and their impact on patients and community pharmacists.
Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC has begun shipping lidocaine 5% ointment to lead off the launch of a new lidocaine product line. Amneal said late Tuesday that its lidocaine 5% ointment is available in a 35.44-g tube with child-resistant cap and in a 50-g jar.
Camber Pharmaceuticals has released fluoxetine capsules, an antidepressant, and losartan potassium, a hypertension medication. Camber said Tuesday that its fluoxetine capsules are available in strengths of 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg in both 30 and 100-count bottles.
With its recent acquisitions, Rite Aid Corp. is well-positioned to further expand its health care capabilities, according to chairman and chief executive officer John Standley.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. may pull out of Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges in 2017 after losing what it said were hundreds of millions of dollars on policies sold under the law.
Health care spending in the United States last year exceeded $3 trillion as five years of slow growth was replaced by the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid and private health insurance coverage. Prescription drug prices accelerated as well.
Despite widespread criticism over the issue of tax inversions, legal experts say that current regulatory restrictions in the United States are unlikely to block the $160 billion merger deal announced by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Ireland-based drug manufacturer Allergan Inc.
